Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review of humanitarian logistics (HL) that aims to identify trends and suggest some directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper develops a research framework for literature review through qualitative and quantitative content analysis. First, previous literature reviews in HL are updated and detailed. Then, seven classification criteria are added to earlier ones in order to advance the literature analysis. Findings – The conclusions identify some literature gaps and research opportunities. The main conclusions are the need for more studies into the disaster recovery phase and the need for closer relationships between academia and humanitarian organizations to increase the number of applied research. Research limitations/implications – The literature is limited to academic peer-reviewed journals because of their academic relevance, accessibility, and ease of searching. Practical implications – Help potenti...

Literature review of humanitarian logistics research: trends and challenges

Undoubtedly, the age of big data has opened new options for natural disaster management, primarily because of the varied possibilities it provides in visualizing, analyzing, and predicting natural disasters. From this perspective, big data has radically changed the ways through which human societies adopt natural disaster management strategies to reduce human suffering and economic losses. In a world that is now heavily dependent on information technology, the prime objective of computer experts and policy makers is to make the best of big data by sourcing information from varied formats and storing it in ways that it can be effectively used during different stages of natural disaster management. This paper aimed at making a systematic review of the literature in analyzing the role of big data in natural disaster management and highlighting the present status of the technology in providing meaningful and effective solutions in natural disaster management. The paper has presented the findings of several researchers on varied scientific and technological perspectives that have a bearing on the efficacy of big data in facilitating natural disaster management. In this context, this paper reviews the major big data sources, the associated achievements in different disaster management phases, and emerging technological topics associated with leveraging this new ecosystem of Big Data to monitor and detect natural hazards, mitigate their effects, assist in relief efforts, and contribute to the recovery and reconstruction processes.

Big Data in Natural Disaster Management: A Review

Disaster management is a crucial and urgent research issue. Emergency communication networks (ECNs) provide fundamental functions for disaster management, because communication service is generally unavailable due to large-scale damage and restrictions in communication services. Considering the features of a disaster (e.g., limited resources and dynamic changing of environment), it is always a key problem to use limited resources effectively to provide the best communication services. Big data analytics in the disaster area provides possible solutions to understand the situations happening in disaster areas, so that limited resources can be optimally deployed based on the analysis results. In this paper, we survey existing ECNs and big data analytics from both the content and the spatial points of view. From the content point of view, we survey existing data mining and analysis techniques, and further survey and analyze applications and the possibilities to enhance ECNs. From the spatial point of view, we survey and discuss the most popular methods and further discuss the possibility to enhance ECNs. Finally, we highlight the remaining challenging problems after a systematic survey and studies of the possibilities.

Big Data Analytics for Emergency Communication Networks: A Survey

A model for evacuation risk assessment with consideration of pre- and post-disaster factors

This paper discusses the use of spatial data for risk and natural disaster management. The importance of remote-sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data is stressed by comparing studies of the use of these technologies for natural disaster management. Spatial data sharing is discussed in the context of the establishment of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) for natural disasters. Some examples of SDI application in disaster management are analyzed, and the need for participation from organizations and governments to facilitate the exchange of information and to improve preventive and emergency plans is reinforced. Additionally, the potential involvement of citizens in the risk and disaster management process by providing voluntary data collected from volunteered geographic information (VGI) applications is explored. A model relating all of the spatial data-sharing aspects discussed in the article was suggested to elucidate the importance of the issues raised.

An Analysis of Geospatial Technologies for Risk and Natural Disaster Management

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Daniel M. Ransberger

Papers

LiDAR assisted emergency response: Detection of transport network obstructions caused by major disasters